Posted - 07/13/2012 : 23:39:36 So, not sure if you guys heard or not, but Roberto Luongo was participating in the main event at the WSOP. He was eliminated today after making it past the "bubble boy" stage and cashed in just under 20K for his efforts. I believe he officially finished in 634th place out of almost 6600 particiapants. His "buy-in", which i believe was 10K was paid for by the BCLC. This has caused a bit of a stir in the province of BC which is really no surprise. I mean, it's a government organization paying a large sum in entrance fee money to an already wealthy athlete to play a game of poker in the off season???

Regardless of the controversy, it looks like his brother Fabio will hold the bragging rights in the family as he too was entered (no report of who paid for him?) and he was alive as of earlier today but i just checked and didn't see him on the list of remaining players so i'm not sure if he's been eliminated?

I guess the big question here is, "should the BCLC be paying for him to play"???

8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)

Beans15

Posted - 07/20/2012 : 13:30:18 It's interesting that someone would bring this up as a 'taxpayer.' Does anyone have an idea of the income the BCLC brings in for that province? In 2011 they contributed nearly $1.1 billion in net income to their shareholders. At the same time they dropped their capital expenses by $11.2 million.

If I was a taxpayer in BC I would not think at all about a $10,000 buy in for Luongo and say, " thank you for saving each person in BC $240 a year in taxes by doing what ever it is you are doing."

Daniel Alfredsson is the MVP of the universe. All hail the Ottawa Senators!!!!!

Mario 66

Posted - 07/20/2012 : 12:32:54 As a canadian tax payer I could see loads of people having a problem with this. There are plenty of poker company's / brands that pay for Professional Poker players entrance fee in exchange for wearing their apparel. That makes sense it is like an athlete wearing sponsored apparel. What relationship doe Roberto Luongo have with the BCLC to warrant 10,000 dollars of BC taxpayers money being used to par take in a event with a 6 million dollar grand prize. If he won the event do you think he would distribute the money to the people of BC who actually paid for him to par take?

Simleung there is a big difference between endorsement deals in which private enterprises persuade athletes to represent their company & a government hand out to a multi-millionaire who could afford to pay the 10,000k entry fee for all 6600 participants & still have a couple mill left over.

This must be a thank you to Luongo on behalf of the BCLC for all the money he has made them over the years blowing big games for the canucks. Sorry Alex & nuxfan if you chime in I just could not resist & cannot see any other reason as to how they would warrant paying for his entrance fee.

Every journey begins with a single step.

Alex116

Posted - 07/20/2012 : 00:11:07 I agree. I mean, i don't mind seeing the ads reminding everyone that the lotto max is at 50 million or whatever, but other ads for this such thing seems like a total waste!

Simleung.....the diff here is that Nike and Gatorade aren't gov't owned companies. That's where many have issues with this sponsorship.

Yeah, here in Ontario we have the OLG, same crap, different name I guess, but anyways, I don't know about your province, but I hear and see TONS of useless advertisements, put on by government agencies in Ontario, which must cost a ton of money, I think this was just another worthless advertising (come on gambling is like alcohol and sex, you don't need to advertise, they sell themselves) put on by a government agency.

Simleung.....the diff here is that Nike and Gatorade aren't gov't owned companies. That's where many have issues with this sponsorship.

Beans15

Posted - 07/18/2012 : 19:29:35 British Columbia Lottery Corporation

Daniel Alfredsson is the MVP of the universe. All hail the Ottawa Senators!!!!!

Shepsky

Posted - 07/18/2012 : 19:23:18 alex, I'm from Ontario.... whats BCLC?

Every day is a great day for hockey-Mario Lemieux

simleung

Posted - 07/17/2012 : 11:07:01 I don't see any problem with it. To me, it's no different than any other marketing or sponsorship. Should an athlete receive large sums of money for appearing in a Nike or Gatorade commercial? This is essentially a commercial for the BCLC.